Adidas unveils 100 percent recyclable running shoe

Global sportswear brand Adidas has strengthened its commitment to tackling plastic waste with the unveiling of Futurecraft. This show is the first 100 per cent recyclable performance running shoe. Adidas is calling its Futurecraft.

A “breakthrough” to unlocking a circular future for sports by allowing its recyclable performance running shoe to be returned to Adidas, broken down and reused to create new performance running shoes, reports Ritz Magazine.

Futurecraft.Loop has been designed from the outset to be remade, by using one material type and no glue, added the sportswear brand, with each component made from 100 per cent reusable TPU that is spun to yarn, knitted, moulded and clean-fused to a Boost midsole using Adidas Speedfactory technology.

Once the shoes come to the end of their first life and are returned to Adidas, they are then washed, ground to pellets and melted into material for components for a new pair of shoes, meaning zero waste and nothing thrown away.

The first-gen release of the Futurecraft.Loop shoe is rolling out as part of Adidas’ widest ever global beta programme, with 200 leading creators from across the world’s major cities, who will be challenged to run in them, return the shoes and share feedback on their experience, ahead of the second-gen drop.

Adidas is hoping that a wider commercial release could be as early as spring/summer 2021.